


Siren

by cledritch



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: And Jaemin lmao, Fluff, I Don't Even Know, Jeno likes the sea, M/M, Merman Jaemin, hint of markhyuck, merman au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 02:17:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10065944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cledritch/pseuds/cledritch
Summary: Jeno liked the sea. More so what dwells in it.





	

He regards the waves with a steady gaze, watching them crash against the rocks to foam at the edges and vanish back into the murky abyss. It’s the storm coming that makes the waves become bigger, more frequent with their fluctuations and he’s afraid of the trees beside the cliffs that would corrode if the rain was any stronger.

He sighs when the sails of his ship billow and snap at the sudden gust of wind, hands making way to tie the ropes better so as he doesn’t have them loosening when they turn back to land. His white shirt is no help to fend off the cold that he makes the decision to pick up his windbreaker from inside the cabin. He rubs his hand when he had worn the warm material and stares at the sky.

Jeno is sure that there was no way the storm would pass by calmly.

“The weather is awful.” He murmurs as puffs of white fog coming out of his mouth with every breath and he shudders at another gust of wind.

 “Who wanted to go fishing in this zero degrees weather, huh?” Donghyuck yells from the control cabin, manning the wheel so that Jeno can see where they were headed on the deck. His friend found it in the goodness of his heart to accompany him but Jeno knew he was here to check the sailboat that Jeno hadn’t let him drive the other time.

Still, there’s nothing wrong with hanging out with his friend even if said friend was a lot keener in spending time with their boyfriend from another town that was visiting for the break.

Jeno sticks his tongue out at him and he knows Donghyuck can see it because the other made a face at him through the glass. “It was supposed to be a little better at this area because some fish only come here when there’s a disturbance in the current.”

“You like risky fishing, that’s great.”

Jeno ignores him to move to the deck, grasping the rails as he peers down at the deep waters that have become tinted a bluish-black that makes him wonder how deep it went.

The sea was always fascinating to him and he always has the urge to jump into it, being called out to let himself be drowned. Jeno read about that once. Something about the call of the abyss that makes your mind to find an escape to a deep end because they don’t know what to do.

It’s better than his parents breathing down his back to always excel in his studies and extracurricular activities to show him off to their neighbors to rub it off that Jeno was better than their sons and daughters will ever be. It’s one of the reasons people don’t like him around here, disregarding that he’s been nothing but polite because they have a personal vendetta for what his parents started. He plays soccer in his free time because it’s the only time no one can dictate him in what to do but now, the only thing he has left is this sailboat and Donghyuck who doesn’t let Jeno’s parents intimidate him into thinking Jeno is a threat.

 

Donghyuck was always the type to do what he wants. That’s how he met Mark after all, sneaking into their rival high school and ended up getting locked in a room before the school president who had stayed late helped him out when he heard Donghyuck’s profanities.

“Shit, this is a bad storm. We should head back, Jeno.” Donghyuck said over the winds that were getting stronger with every distance they covered between land and sea. It’s a warning to Jeno that he might have miscalculated again so he pushes himself off the rails but stops.

Donghyuck continues his ranting, ignorant that his friend wasn’t actually paying attention to him “The lines you’ll cast would just hit the rocks and I doubt any fish would be enticed by dancing lure. You just had to pick a stormy weather for this and dragged me here,” It was lie though because Donghyuck invited himself to this trip, waiting in the docks when Jeno texted him five hours before that he was going to take his sailboat out in the water.

Jeno blinks down at what he’s seeing in the water.

A giggle, a very pretty smile and his blink is returned by eyelashes fanning down bright eyes.

“Lee Jeno, come on! Get in before the rain starts! I’m not letting you get sick after you almost blew snot on my favorite shirt!”

Jeno looks over his shoulder to yell back a “Shut up! That was one time!”

“One time is enough!”

Deciding that Donghyuck was going to continue being a little shit, he looked back to the anomaly in the sea and is greeted by the still water. Jeno’s eyes widened and he walked away from the deck, into the cabin as Donghyuck tells him “Well, about time.” There’s fear twisting in his stomach and he looks out the glass just as it starts drizzling, wondering if he had seen it right.

It was freezing cold and the water was deep enough that even if you were an efficient swimmer you’d still have to suffer the probability of getting hypothermia. Jeno knew that there were rocks by the area that if the current swept you up, you’ll end up hurting yourself and it’s one of the reasons this spot was isolated.

So why was there a boy in the water smiling up at him looking like none of that bothered him?

 

Jeno stares at his lures that were laid neatly on his desk, examining them for any kind of loose feather or tie that would hinder them enticing any fish. He’s been particular about them nowadays ever since his father had showed him how to make his own, smirking because Jeno caught on fast that he gave him a fishing rod as a gift afterwards. It’s a reward system to them: make them proud by showing your skills and they’ll shower you with what they equivalent to your performance. The worst he got was a rotten apple when he was six because he couldn’t kick the ball overhead into the goal and his mother had to endure the giggling of the other parents.

He picks up the red one to fix the feathers so they didn’t clump with each other and sighs “Was it real?”

The boy in the sea still hadn’t left his mind.

Jeno doesn’t even understand why he’s still caught up on that. It must be some adrenalin junkie trying to brace the cold waters and try to thrill themselves by near death experiences.  He tried cliff jumping once that he can understand why people like the feeling of knowing you’re close to dying, that spark of breathlessness that comes with knowing the dangers.

He keeps his lures back into his little plastic container and put it back on the shelf. Jeno doesn’t want to think more about the sea when he has an exam to study for, letting the little warning signs in his head flit through like white noise.

 

Donghyuck gives him a smile, walking beside Mark who looked like he was invested in some story he got from his time away from him. It would sound cruel but Donghyuck was the one who insisted apparently to know about what was happening with Mark and the interesting things he was going through in his new school.  Jeno liked listening to them sometimes, about Mark’s neighboring school where the hyungs that he befriended would teach him some things kids only dream about.

“-Renjun didn’t even hesitate to ask Winwin-hyung about his brother. It was comical when hyung didn’t even understand what he wanted with Chenle.” Mark’s sentence is punctuated with his unique laughter, Donghyuck rolling his eyes and pushing him painfully just as they arrived on the bus stop Jeno was waiting inside.

“How old is this Winwin-hyung again? He sounds younger than us.”

Mark sighs, slinging his arm around Donghyuck while Jeno stands up to join them in walking down the road to their houses. “I’d say as much that he’s the baby of the group with Ten-hyung.”

Jeno chose to cut them off “Sounds fun out there, huh?” he’s always been a little curious about moving away from his parents’ house and living on his own when he starts university but it’s never come up, not with how he’s being given applications for nearer schools. They might be proud of him but they didn’t want their golden child being out of their grasp.

Mark gives him a toothy smile, using his other arm to pull Jeno closer so he can stage whisper “Not as fun with you guys though.”

Donghyuck scoffs “You just say that because you think you can boss us around.”

Jeno laughs while Mark makes kissy faces to annoy Donghyuck even more. He turns his head to the side and found that they were walking by the beach, nearing the stairs that lead down to the sand. The weather has stilled after the storm a few days back, making the sand be littered with seaweed, broken off corals and shells washed ashore because of the current. It reminds him of the boy and he stops, halting Mark and Donghyuck because he was still holding him.

“What’s up?” Donghyuck asks with worry flashing through his face when Jeno stares out to the waves dragging back and forth. Mark looks at him as well, eyebrow quirking.

Jeno makes up his mind and removes Mark’s hand on him with a sheepish smile “I need to head over to the beach for now.” It’s nothing much, the water looks calm that he can dip his toes in or just walk by without it touching him to think a bit. He likes Mark and Donghyuck’s company but his mind is invested elsewhere that he didn’t want to burden them with his lack of attention.

Donghyuck looks like he wants to protest but Mark gives him a stern look that shuts him a little. The latter huffs and waves at him “Well, we’ll swing by your house to tell your parents then. Don’t go out too late.”

“Or drown.”

Jeno rolls his eyes, waving at the two as they disappeared in the distance. He turns to the entrance of the beach, walking down the concrete stairs before they halted onto the sand that scrunches under his weight.  He kicks off the grains that hit the laces of his shoes, continuing to walk down to the wet sand and scooting back when the water gets too close to his feet. Jeno enjoyed the wind that’s blowing on his face, his nose numbing because of it and his lips were getting a little chapped when he ran his teeth over them. It’s cold but he finds comfort in it, moving down to where there’s a rock formation that creates a little pool that connects to the sea hidden in plain sight so no one could bother him. There, he finds that because of the storm there is more water spilling up the holes on the rocks eroded with time that he sees little fishes, crabs and even an anemone stranded inside the pools.

But then he spots the conch shell laying on the steep rock and grumbles.

“So it was you.”

No answer but he hears a splash that makes water drops fly to his face and he chuckles. “You do know I can hear you. Just come out.”

Another splash followed by laughter but Jeno is stepping through the ridges to avoid getting his shoes wet and he sits on the flat rock when he managed to make sure it wasn’t wet. He picks up the conch shell and pretends to admire the pink inside that blends to white on the shell’s exterior. He waits for the splash then he feels something brushing against his leg, cold and wet that sends a disturbance in the pool before he reaches out to hug it right when it surfaces.

His clothes get wet but it’s okay because he can relish the squeak of protest followed by that melodious laughter. He puts a little space between them with his arms still around the person and his eyes are turned to crescents at the bright smile on those pretty lips.

Jaemin shakes his head in amusement, drops of water flicking from his wet hair while the rest trail down his collarbones where the necklace with a pearl pendant rested, glowing pink in the light. The boy is reaching out from the water that it’s supposed to be uncomfortable but it’s not, the stretch of his tail helping him as leverage so Jeno can hug him closer.

“I’m a little hurt you didn’t greet me that time.” Jaemin says, pouting all the while. He’s always been a little miffed when ignored especially when Jeno drops by the sea despite his constant need to focus on other priorities pushed onto him. So it must have been the familiar boat that he had first met Jeno on that led him to believe that the other was visiting him in the middle of the sea that time. They kept their meetings in this spot because it was easier to not be seen but Jaemin has said he’d like to show Jeno the wonders underneath the boring calm surface of the water.

Jeno rolls his eyes and pats his damp hair. “You were there at the wrong time. I was with someone else.”

Jaemin moves back to submerge his chest back to the water. It looks cramped but he maneuvers his tail around what space he can get and swims around a bit to get comfortable. He’s still not used to being constricted. “Ah, the fabled thing they tell us about humans where you had a lover with you enjoying the storm together. Romantic.” He teases without any bite in his words as he cups some water to splash at Jeno’s face.

He sputters, more so to the water than the words and scoots over to playfully kick him but misses on purpose that Jaemin latches his arm around it. “You drama queen. You’re my boyfriend.”

Jaemin smiles cheekily before he’s dragging Jeno into the water, cushioning his fall with his body as the water rises to spill out the pool. He hugs him, laughing all the while and wraps his tail around Jeno’s body just so he can relish the body heat that is getting colder due to the water. Jaemin’s tale is sleek and gray with scales that shine with colors when the light hits it properly forked at the ends. He remembers that tail slapping his face by accident the first time he hauls the unconscious merboy into his boat because he thought he was drowning. It was the most surreal event in his life but Jaemin had woken up, spluttered at the red mark on his face and tried to apologize.

He was very cute and Jeno didn’t understand how fast he accepted the idea that he was half-fish.

“You could have just said hello, though,” Jaemin continues burrowing his face on Jeno’s now wet shirt that was supposed to be white but is now transparent. He’ll catch a cold later, he just knew it. It was always that Jaemin liked the way Jeno’s body temperature was so vastly different from his that he wanted to always keep him close to feel it. Jaemin’s skin may be cold but Jeno stares into the way he smiles so wide, his cheeks fill with this glow that suggests otherwise. He was always very sunny, if sunny could describe a person but Jeno didn’t have anything else to say about the way that Jaemin’s smile always made him want to turn away at how bright it was “Introduce me to your friend, even.”

Jeno made a face. “Yeah, I guess I’d tell my friend I have a half-fish boyfriend and they might make you sushi. Or call me insane.”

“If I sing for them, they’ll change their mind.”

“Nana, your voice will make them want to drown themselves. Literally.”  Jeno scolds him with a flick on his forehead and Jaemin playfully tries to nip on his fingers in retaliation.

“You listened and you didn’t drown.”

“What can I say? I’d die for your voice but I’m immune to it.” Jeno winks and Jaemin blushes prettily that the he lets go of Jeno for a little bit before glaring and hitting him on the chest.

Jeno kisses his cheek, shivering at the cold and Jaemin realizes the loss of heat that it’s time for Jeno to go. Humans were easily susceptible to disease, easy to lure with a little song and they can’t even take a little water in their lungs. He knows humans aren’t built like merpeople yet maybe that’s what was fascinating about them. The way the walk on two appendages that was apparently multi-functional like how Jeno ‘danced’ for him once in this weird popping motion Jaemin was afraid he’d get hurt and the hoverboards looked fun.

But Jaemin likes Jeno’s humanity. It’s an endearing thing because Jeno is wonderful and kind even if he says weird things that sound like he’s trying to flirt with Jaemin in some human customs he can’t grasp on.

Jaemin lets Jeno go so the latter climbs up the flat rock dripping wet and pouts again because he knows it might make Jeno reconsider a few more minutes before he goes. “Don’t go where I can’t follow you.”

“I tell you that a lot when you’re at sea so don’t play cute with me,” Jeno bops Jaemin’s nose to remind him and gets puppy eyes again that he feels like pouting too “That’s unfair and you know it, Nana.”

“I’m not doing anything~”

“Next time, I’ll make sure to invite you to my boat and introduce you to Donghyuck, okay?”

Jaemin beams and kisses him on the lips to show his gratitude.

“You’re lucky you can glamour me.”

“I do no such thing.”

It was the truth but teasing Jaemin was fun.

 

**Author's Note:**

> whose fault is this? the dream team.


End file.
